


Don't Save Me

by 365daysoffeels



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-02 14:39:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 20,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8671387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysoffeels/pseuds/365daysoffeels
Summary: Alice had been Bucky's high school sweetheart, however one night she disappears leaving nothing but her dead parents. It takes years for Bucky to get over her or at least to pretend that he is. When he however was turned into the Winter Soldier, Alice returns to track him down, when he goes missing. Not that he would remember her being brainwashed over and over again. But what happens when his best friend finally finds him, he starts to remember and Alice comes back to find him.





	1. Found Him

"It is time, once again." A knock followed the voice, the girl knew all too well. she sat on the bed in her room. It was a cell, but she had spent so many years here that it slowly, very slowly started to feel like home. The door opened to reveal a man clad in a military uniform. "Get ready, you have two days to find him and bring him back. If you fail, well, I don't think I have to remind you what happens, if you fail." His voice had been cold and emotionless like always, an evil smirk plastered on his face. "He was last seen in DC, if you not back within three days, we will come to find you." He repeated his usual words, while she gave a short nod, before he removed the cuff around her ankle and she disappeared. She opened her eyes to find herself on the roof of a skyscraper. She looked around for a second, confusion washing over her.

_'They said DC. This is New York.'_

She took a deep breathe, before she let her eyes scan over the crowd walking the street. He has to be here, otherwise she wouldn't have teleported to New York. With a sigh of relief her eyes settled on the man with longish brown hair, he was wearing a leather jacket and a glove on one hand, covering his metal arm. Her eyes widened slightly when her eyes fixed on the man walking beside him.

_'Looks like our friend found you before I did, love.'_

She watched them for a while, unsure what she should do next. Steve had found him and he would never let him return. A shiver run down her spin, when she thought of Steve's reaction to her involvement in it. She decided to approach them, after all she only had three days to figure everything out. Taking another deep breath, she teleported to a nearby alleyway. She pulled her sleeves over her hands, before pushing into the crowd. As soon as she reach them, she placed her hand on Steve's wrist, convinced that Bucky's reaction could have attracted much more attention that she would've want. Steve turned around, the confusion on his face quickly replaced with shock. "Alice?" His voice was barely over a whisper, but it seemed like Bucky had heard him anyway, because he twisted around quickly. "We should get off the streets, before we have this conversation." Alice' voice sounded strange and unfamiliar, probably because of the lack of use. Steve nodded, before he turned to a third man. "We need to get out of here, right now." The man nodded, before he started to look around. "Stark?" Steve nodded once more, before the man started to walk off. Alice was about to follow him, when she realised that Bucky was still looking at her and hadn't moved an inch. "How?" was all he could mutter, before Steve pulled him along. She followed them through the crowd, trying to keep the paranoid and anxious feelings at bay. Now wasn't the time to have an anxiety attack, she needed to figure out what to do. This was not how this mission was supposed to go. Alice expected it to be like it had been all the times before. They would send her out to find him, she would find him confused, remembering little bits of his past, she would spend a day with him, before they had to return. They had to return, they always had to. She learned that the hard way, she still remember the pain in his eyes.

Alice shook her head to get the image out of her head. She swallowed heavily trying not to think of the consequences should they not be back in time. It was the third man's voice that finally managed snapped her out of her thoughts, "Here we are, Stark Tower." Alice looked up at the modern building, quickly looking around the street, scanning for anything suspicious. _Nothing._ She let out a sigh of relief, before following them into the building. All of them stepped into the elevator. "Sam," Steve started, finally revealing the third man's name. "Do me a favour and distract Stark, while we are having a little chat?" Sam nodded, getting of at the first stop. When the door opened again Steve and Bucky left the elevator and Alice quickly followed.

"You came to take me back." Bucky stated sitting down at the table in front of them. Alice looked around, it looked like a normal, very modern flat. "Yeah." She muttered, pulling at her sleeves. "You are supposed to be dead." Steve spoke up, looking at her with a mix of confusion and shock, but also relief. "I know." Alice mumbled, feeling very self-conscious under their gaze. "And now you are working for HYDRA?" Disbelief laced Steve's voice, but also disappointment, which hurt Alice even more. "I suppose." Steve sat down, covering his face with his hands, while Bucky was still staring her down, scared to return to his former employer and confused by Steve's statement. In the time he had spend with Steve, he had remembered a lot about his former life, but he couldn't figure out how Steve knew her. "You have a lot to explain, Alice." Steve muttered, she gave him a short nod. "I know." Alice finally sat down as well. "I don't know where to start" she chuckled dryly, glancing at the two of them. "How much time did they give you?" Bucky interrupted, before Alice could say anything else. He remember how she had tracked him down all the other times, she always waited as long as she could, before she took him back. "Two days to find you, on the third they will come and find me." She stated, playing with her fingers, so she didn't have to look at them. "I won't let you return to them." Steve looked at Bucky, before he turned to her. "and you won't return either."

Before either of them could utter another word, the door burst open. "So it is true." A woman with red hair stood in the door, her arms crossed in front of her. Steve stood up, going over to talk to her, their voices so low, Alice couldn't understand a word. "I hope you know, that if I had a choice I wouldn't take you back to them." Alice mumbled, looking up at Bucky. He nodded his head, before he muttered a "I know", she had always told him that, making it clear that she, just like him, had no choice but to do as she was told. It always made him wonder, what HYDRA had on her that they managed to control her, someone, who can teleport wherever she wished to go. What would she leave behind, when she decide to leave during one of her missions. "Did you even check her for any weapons?" Alice's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "I'm not carrying any weapons, never have, never will." She turned to look at the two of them. "Nat, she won't hurt any of us." Steve reasoned, while the redhead seemed to argue with herself. "You know, who she is though right? She is with Hydra." Bucky focused on Alice again, when he saw her flinch, when Natasha once again pointed out her connection to the organisation. He had never seen her fight anyone and it made him curious, what use she was to Hydra. "Trust me, as long as Bucky and me are around and no one threatens her, nothing will happen." Steve's voice reached Bucky, making him even more curious, he had always only been her mission, why should he have such an effect on her. Natasha sighed, shooting a glare at Alice, before she walked towards the door. "I'll be outside, just in case." With a quick nod from Steve, she finally left.

"How do I know you?" Alice flinched, when Bucky said those words. Of course she knew that he had been brainwashed over and over again, leaving him to only remember her from tracking him down. But deep down she had hoped he remembered her from their childhood.


	2. Safety Measures

"I think that's a story for another time." Alice stated, offering Bucky a small smile. "Neither of us want to return to them. So, we should figure out a way to prevent them from getting to us and we only have two days." She looked up at them anxiously, even though she knew that Steve would never leave her, she was still scared that her previous actions might affect them now. "They send you out to find Bucky. How will they find you?" Steve asked her, while Bucky was just observing her. "I'm not sure, but I guess they put a tracker under my skin. Letting me find him first was probably just quicker." Alice grumbled, before she bit down on her sleeve, anger and exhaustion visible in her eyes, causing both Steve's and Bucky's face to soften. "Let's go to Tony and get rid of it then." Steve stated, before he got off his seat and walked towards the door. Alice got up and was about to follow, when a pair of arms, wrapped around her waist. "I missed you" Bucky mumbled, before Alice turned in his arms, returning the hug. "I was scared, you wouldn't remember me." Her voice had been low, he almost didn't hear it. "Let's make sure they will never find us again." Bucky gave her a small smile, before he took her hand and they joined Steve outside.

Tony had been a bit unsure about having Alice, he had not yet come up with a nickname for her, in his lab not only because of the fact that she had worked or was still working for Hydra, but also because of her abilities. When Steve however mentioned the tracker that might be tucked somewhere under her skin, he quickly got Tony's attention. Tony told Friday to make a body scan of Alice, looking for anything suspicious. It didn't take long for them to find not only one of those metal devices in her body, but five of them. "Well, they made sure to have a couple of them incase you go missing right?" Tony chuckled, while Steve glared at him and Bucky's gaze was fixed on Alice. "Let's remove them and put an end to this." Steve ordered, while Tony told his A.I. to get Bruce. Alice furrowed her brows, confused about this Bruce. "He's a doctor, he'll get them out." Steve informed her, she gave him a smile, her body relaxing visibly. She glanced to her side, finding Bucky still standing close to her, a worried expression on his face.

A few minute later a man entered the room. "Dr. Banner." Steve nodded at him in greeting. _So he is the doctor_. Alice couldn't help the anxious thoughts that developed in her mind. Every possible way this could go wrong pictured in her mind. "Don't worry, Miss.." Bruce started, before he realised he didn't know her name. "Macbay, Alice Macbay." Steve filled in, while Banner nodded understanding. "Well, the devil has five trackers in her body and we need to remove them." Tony filled Bruce in, earning a glare from Steve for the nickname, while the two of them looked at the pictures from the body scan. All of the sudden their voices turned into whispers, when they discussed one particular tracker. "We should dispose of them somewhere far away, instead of destroy them to give us more time." Alice mumbled, her hands once again playing with her sleeves. "Good plan, Alice." Steve smiled at her, before his eyes looked down at her hands.

"Why are you hiding them?" He had his brows furrowed. "Showing them usually tends to scare people." Alice mumbled, confusing Steve even more than he had before. "Her abilities is affecting her skin." Bucky finally mumbled, from behind Alice. Steve still seemed rather confused, causing Alice to pull back her sleeves, exposing her raven black skin. "So it's not just a nervous habit, huh?" Steve stated, while Alice just shook her head. "It's a timer." Alice finally explained. "When the black reaches the heart I'll die. The black is growing depending on how much I am using my powers. It's all part of what I am." Steve's brows were raised, surprised how open she was about it. He had known Alice to be rather shy, so he didn't expected her to talk about it, unless he asked her directly. Alice turned to face Bucky curious about his reaction, but his face remained the same. She had told him about it before, but she didn't know much he remembered. Bucky offered her a smile, which she returned, understanding that he did remember what she was. One could see the question buzzing in Steve's eyes, but before he could ask, Tony and Bruce returned to them. "One is going to be a bit complicated but we can manage." Tony stated, while Bruce zipped around the lab, looking for all the tools he needed for this surgery. "What do you mean complicated?" Bucky's voiced had a calming effect on Alice, even though one could hear the worry in it. While all her thoughts about the possible outcomes returned, she suddenly felt a hand on her back, she twisted her head to the side and saw Bucky standing closer than before. It was his hand on her back, a small smile appeared on her face, pulling her thoughts from the gruesome outcomes to him. Bucky's question however, seemed to be ignored by the two geniuses in the room. 

A slight panic washed over her, when Bruce had finally collected everything he needed. He stood to her right and Tony stood on her left, while she was seated on a bench. They were arranging their tools, when Bruce spoke up. "We will start with the complicated one first, if you don't mind. As soon as that one is done, the other shouldn't be a problem." Alice nodded understandingly, her gaze flitting to Bucky and Steve, who were standing outside, watching from a window. "There is one tracker under your collarbone, two on your thighs and one on your neck." "The last one is extremely close to your heart making it complicated to remove. Hydra made sure that you yourself would not be able to remove them, at least not all of them." Tony piped in. "We will give your something to sleep, while we get them out." Bruce informed Alice, while he prepared the syringe. Alice only nodded, feeling too nervous and anxious to actually speak.

Bucky eyed the two scientists, while they started to remove the trackers. "I still can't believe that she is still alive" Steve's voice broke the silence, pulling Bucky's attention from Alice to Steve. "I can't remember her before HYDRA, Steve." Bucky admitted, making a frown appear on Steve's face. "You will remember it eventually." Steve tried to cheer him up. "So she brought you back to them every time." "I don't think she had a choice. They have something on her, why else should she stay with them." Bucky sighed, running his hand over his eyes. Steve watched his friend, the confusion and frustration was clear on his face. He knew that he wanted to know what had happened to Alice and how he knew her. However no matter how much both them wanted to find out all of this, they had to wait. First, they needed to place the trackers somewhere, before they could find a place for Bucky and Alice to stay. It worried Steve, he wasn't sure whether he should let them stay on their own or if he should come with them. It wasn't like he wanted to watch over them, more like protect them. He was finally reunited not only with his best friend but also a childhood friend, he had believed to be dead since before the war had even started. In the fact, when he remembered correctly Alice had disappeared when he had been in high school. It had been their last year in high school, a few days before their graduation. Bucky and Alice had been so in love with each other and had plans for the future together. Everything had changed so suddenly, leaving Bucky a wreck, while Alice had been gone without a trace. Steve shook his head trying to rid himself of his memories. "Maybe it's better you don't remember." Steve finally muttered, earning a confused look from Bucky.


	3. The Departure

"We need to figure out where to send them." Natasha stated, when Steve came into the living room. He had left Bucky in front of the window. He was a bit worried but also relieved, it seemed even though Bucky had forgotten their past together, Alice and Bucky still had some sort of connection. "I think about going with them." Steve mumbled abstractedly, while Natasha and Clint looked worried at him, Natasha had been with Steve, when he found out that Bucky was still alive and now he found out that their childhood friend Alice was still alive as well. She could see the toll it took on him as well. "They can't be on their own unsupervised" Clint stated, Nat nodded in agreement. "We could let them decide, if they want to go for the cliché cottage in the woods or a flat somewhere in the city."

Bucky looked at Banner and Stark in pure horror, when the heart monitor started to get louder and faster. His knuckle were white from clenching his fists. He could see them talking to each other hastily but he couldn't hear them. His breathing picked up, worry washing over him, while he continued watching over the two scientists. Soon enough Alice's heart rate seemed to calm down and finally Bucky relaxed slightly. A hand on his shoulder made him jumper, before Steve's voice calmed him down again. "The two of you will leave as soon as they are done." Bucky nodded understandingly. "We haven't decided, whether you should go into an apartment or a house. I thought it would only be fair if you decided. After all it's you two who will live there." Steve continued, turning his gaze to Bruce and Tony. "How many have they removed yet?" Steve turned back to his friend, who still seemed rather focused on the sight in front of them. "Three more to go." Bucky stated, trying to get rid of the horrible feeling that invaded his mind, when he remembered how close to death Alice had been earlier. "I think a bit of solitude would do us both some good. Alice never liked crowds and my actions are still a bit unpredictable." He continued quickly glancing at Steve, who seemed to cringe when Bucky reminded him, how unstable Bucky himself still was. "So the cottage it is?" Steve checked, earning a nod from Bucky.

"So our little devil will live!" Tony announced, when he left the room to inform Steve and Bucky. "How long until she is transportable?" Steve inquired, crossing his arms in front of him. Bucky tried to hid the smile that was growing on his face. He was still not used to see his friend as a figure of authority and he made sure to remind him of it every time he got the chance to, like reminding him that he technically isn't a captain, which earned an eye roll from Steve every time. "Give her a few more hours and she should wake up. After that Terminator and the devil are free to go." Bucky chuckled dryly at Tony's nicknames for him and Alice, while Steve just simple rolled his eyes. "Thank you, Stark." Steve and Tony looked at Bucky in surprise, neither of them suspected him to thank Tony. "You are welcome, I guess, it's not like I want HYDRA on my doormat anyway." Tony shrugged, before he left them. "I will go and organise the whole cottage thing. You are staying?" Steve wasn't sure why he was even asking, when he already knew the answer. Bucky nodded quickly, before Steve left.

When Alice woke up, her body was aching. She looked to her side to find Bucky sitting next to her. "Hey" She croaked, while he smiled at her. She looked around to find herself in the same room she had been in before, so they hadn't moved her. "We agreed to leave as soon as you are awake." Bucky smiled at her. "In fact, I guess I should tell them you are awake." Alice nodded, before she watched Bucky telling Friday to tell the other that she was awake. "Where will we go? What about the trackers? How long was I out?" Bucky smiled at her many questions, grabbing her hand. "A little cottage in the woods, Clint and Natasha disposed of them and you were only out for a few hours." Alice nodded her head understanding, confusion washing shortly over her, when Bucky mentioned the name Clint. Before she however could ask who this Clint was, Steve barged into the room. "Good to see you awake, Macbay." He smiled at her while Tony and Bruce followed him. "So I guess this is Macbye, Macbay." Tony winked at her, while Alice just rolled her eyes. Bucky however seemed to freeze, a memory shooting through his mind. A smaller version of Alice was standing in front of him, rolling her eyes at the exact same joke, only it was him who had made the joke. Bucky was jerked out of his memory, when he realised all four of them were looking at him. "I'm absolutely devastated to separate the two of you," Tony said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, while he pointed at their joint hands. "but we'd like to make one last body scan and check Alice's health, before the two of you elope." Bucky gave a short nod, before he let go of Alice's hand and joined Steve on the other side of the room. Steve handed him some keys, "A car, clothes and food is already there and we thought Alice can take the two of you there, it would be quicker. Though I'm not exactly sure how that whole teleporting thing works." Steve's brows furrowed slightly at the end. "She has to either imagine a person or has to have seen the place." Bucky informed him. "She told me about her powers once." He continued, trying to remember what else she could do, but his mind went blank. Frustration quickly bubbling inside him, when HYDRA popped into his mind as a reminder of all the things he forgot thanks to them, but when he saw Alice smiling at him the frustration just simply faded away.

As soon as Bruce and Tony were done and gave them their okay, Steve took Alice and Bruce back to the living room. "So you think you can do it?" Steve looked at Alice, while he showed her pictures of the cottage. Alice gave a short nod, before she furrowed her brows slightly. "Would it not be better to teleport straight into the house? I mean just in case that there is someone in the woods. They would freak out if they see us appear out of nowhere." Steve looked at her in astonishment, while Bucky just smiled at her. "Still thinking of everything are you." Bucky chuckled slightly, making Alice smile as well. Seeing her smile made his heart rate pick up and even though he might only remember her from his time at HYDRA, something gave him the feeling that he had been missing her smile. "She got a point though." Steve's voice ripped him from his thoughts. "Clint, Natasha you guys have pictures from inside the house?" Soon after Natasha and Clint entered the room, Clint handed a tablet to Alice, after he introduced himself. Alice took a look at the pictures, "It looks nice." She smiled at Bucky, a sense of excitement washing over her. She was actually looking forward to spend time with him. Even though she dreaded the fact that as soon as they would leave the tower, the two of them would have to watch every step they took and think about every action, in order to not attract attention.

"Are you ready?" Bucky's voice pulled her from her thoughts and she gave him a nod, before he walked over to Steve giving him a quick hug. "I'll follow in a couple of days, just need to make sure, they are looking in the wrong place first." Steve told Alice, while he gave her a hug. Alice thanked them all, before Bucky grabbed her hand. Doubt washed over her, she wasn't used to teleporting with other people and every time she had to do it with Bucky she started to doubt herself. It had gone wrong once, it could go wrong again. Bucky squeezed her hand reassuringly and gave her smile, before she took a deep breathe. She shot a quick smile at Steve, before the two of them were gone.

 


	4. Confesstion

Bucky opened his eyes and found himself in the living room, which they had seen on the picture just a few seconds ago. The walls were made out of white bricks, tall windows were placed here and there, flooding the room with light. There was a dark brown leather couch situated across from the fireplace, a little coffee table made out of steel and glass was separating them. In general the cottage had a rather minimalistic and modern feeling to it. Not really what one would have expected from a cottage in the woods. Bucky was in awe looking at the modern style of the cottage, it was not what he had expected, but he could have, after all it had been one of Tony Stark's lodgings. "In case of emergency" the billionaire had told him, while Alice had been looking at the pictures. One could also clearly see Pepper's touch around the house, a couple of pillows on the leather sofa and armchairs as well as a few blankets hanging over the back of the couch. There were also a few plants dotted around the room, which were no doubt placed there by Pepper's instructions.

Bucky looked over to Alice, only to find her gone, he turned completely and came face to face with the kitchen, where he found Alice looking through the cupboards. "It is very..." Bucky started, his fingers tracing over the wooden surface of the breakfast bar, which separated the kitchen from the living room. "Modern? or very Tony?" Alice turned around looking at Bucky, smirking slightly. "Both." Bucky chuckled, before he turned around to explore the cottage. The first room had been rather open, merging the kitchen, living room and dining room, one door seemed to lead outside to a little patio, while one door led into a hallway, which had two doors lining one wall and one door on the other. The single door was the master bedroom. Bucky chuckled to himself, this was so Tony. A king sized bed was placed on one wall, a fireplace opposite the bed and a dresser to the side. The other two doors turned out to be a bathroom and another bedroom. When he had a look around the bathroom, he thought that Alice might actually really enjoy the bathtub, as soon as the thought had crossed his mind, his brows furrowed and confusion washed over him. _Why should Alice enjoy the bathtub? How do I know that?_ He shook his head to get the thoughts out of his head, when he heard Alice coming down the hall. "Oh, a bathtub, I didn't use one of them for several decades." Her voice echoed off the walls. "This place is nice, isn't it?" She had turned to him, her hand running over the metal bathtub. "Better than what I'm used to." Bucky grumbled, earning an agreeing nod from Alice.

"I found some minced meat and canned tomatoes, we could make some spaghetti bolognese for dinner, I remember you loved it back then." Alice smiled slightly, when she sat down next to him on the couch. "Sounds good. I don't really remember it, but apart from Stevem you seem to be the one to know me best." Bucky's brows furrowed slightly. "I'm sorry." Alice's mumbled words startled Bucky and his head snapped up to face her. "What are you sorry for?" He was clearly confused, Alice had nothing to be sorry for. "Everything."

Her voice broke slightly, she had hoped he wouldn't notice but he did and he suddenly had an urge to comfort her, wrapping his flesh arm around her shoulder. "I should have looked for a way to get you away from them. God knows, how many opportunities I had, but I didn't..." A sob escape her mouth, interrupting her confession. "It's just they threatened to kill you and I just couldn't live knowing you died because of me as well. I was so selfish." She was full on sobbing now and without thinking much about it, Bucky pulled her into his arms, her head pressed into his chest, while tears soaked his shirt. It felt like someone was squeezing his heart, seeing Alice like that. "Alice, nothing of this was your fault. HYDRA are at fault not you." He leaned back a bit, to look at her face. "But it is my fault you ended up with them."

Alice was full on sobbing now and as soon as the words had left her lips, Bucky froze. _It had been her fault?_ "Alice, what do you mean?" An uneasy feeling grew in Bucky's guts. _What if Alice is still part of HYDRA? What if this was all a trick to get him back?_

"I was there when you fell off the train. I tried to catch you and teleport you to safety." Alice stuttered, her breath hitching occasionally from all the crying. "I wasn't used to teleporting with other people and..." She took a deep breathe trying to calm herself down, while Bucky's uneasiness started to fade. "I accidentally k-knocked into some rocks... Bucky, it's my fault you lost your arm. If I were able to teleport properly, nothing would have happened to y-you." No matter how much Alice tried to calm herself down, sobs still racked through her body. "I didn't want to risk killing you with my teleporting skills, so I decided to get help and l-lead them to you and I was so shaken up by everything that I didn't pay attention to who I was leading to you. And, god, I should have. I didn't realise until we were back at their facility." Tears started to fill her eyes once more, but Alice tried to hold them back, feeling like she had already cried enough. "I'm so sorry, Bucky." Her breathing hitched. _Like it always did after she had cried,_ Bucky thought, before he was shocked once more about how well he seemed to know her without knowing or rather remembering it.

Bucky wasn't angry with Alice, after all she had tried to help. One side of him wished she hadn't, his death might have been easier on Steve and herself and he wouldn't have had to go through all of the horrible things HYDRA had done to him. But the other side was glad, because now he was reunited with his best friend and Alice, even though he wasn't really sure yet, what Alice was to him. "Alice," Bucky started, watching the woman, playing with her fingers, avoiding his gaze. "stop beating yourself up about it. You tried to save my life and in a way you did. Without you I wouldn't be here, I wouldn't be reunited with either you or Steve. And, god, I'm glad to see my best friend again." A small smile was playing on his face, when he had said the last words, reassuring Alice that he in fact was not angry with her and yet she was still not done beating herself up. "Let's cook those spaghetti. Come on, doll." Bucky took her hand, before pulling her up. He froze slightly when the pet name slipped his lips. He turned around, curious about Alice's reaction to it and only found her smiling.


	5. Acclimatisation

_"I just couldn't live knowing you died because of me as well."_ Alice's words ringed in his ear, when he was lying in bed unable to sleep. He had a feeling he would know what had happened, if HYDRA wouldn't have brain washed him. His fists clenched, this incredible anger he felt towards HYDRA was growing day by day. A whimper pulled him out of his thoughts, before the creaking of the wooden floor pulled his attention towards the door to the hallway. He was about to jump out of bed, when the door opened and Alice was standing in the doorway. "Can't sleep?" Her voice was low, in the tower he wouldn't have understood her with all the noise of the city, but in the silence of the cottage it sounded like she was talking normally. "Not really." Bucky chuckled dryly, before he walked over to her. "Let's watch some TV. Sam once said he always falls asleep watching TV." Alice nodded her head, before she grabbed his hand. Having some kind of physical contact with him always calmed her done and even though she would've loved to just throw herself into his arms right at that moment, she knew that she probably would confuse him more.

"This is horrible." Bucky grumbled, his brows furrowed in shock, while the two of them watched some reality TV show. "It definitely makes one question the human race." Alice agreed, making Bucky chuckle slightly, before he glanced at her. She was wrapped into a blanket, her legs against her chest, while her arms were wrapped around them, her head leaning on her knees. She seemed calm, making a relieved smile appear on Bucky's face. She had been distressed earlier, she had tried to hide it, but for the trained assassin, it was no effort at all to spot it the second she opened the door. He guessed she had had a nightmare, which would also explain the whimper he had heard, before she came into his room. When he had seen her, he had had the urge to pull her into bed next to him, something in his head just told him to do it, but he didn't understand why, so he ignored the impulse and decided to distract her instead. "I don't understand how Sam can love it that much." Bucky stated in disbelief. "Taste varies I guess." Alice shrugged, her eyes still fixed on the TV. "True, but this...this is just... terrible." Bucky's statement earned a chuckle from Alice. "Very true." Alice agreed, before she chuckled once more, making Bucky smirk to himself. He made her laugh and it made him feel fantastic. Her laugh sounded amazing and he wanted to hear it again.

Two weeks past and Steve was still not at the cottage. Alice stared out of the window, she was worried. She had always been worried about Bucky and Steve. First she had always been more worried about Steve, which had been more reasonable back then, after all he had always been the one to get into fights. A small smile appeared on her face, when she remembered how Bucky somehow always managed to find Steve just in time, before the fights ended horribly.

 

* * *

 

_"Never thought someone so small could take so many hits" Alice heard a male's voice chuckling in an alley, when she walked past. She had been on her way home from school. Her brows immediately furrowed, the words ringing in her head. Without a second thought she turned into the alley, only to find two jocks from her school hitting a rather scrawny boy. "What the hell are you doing? Knock it off!" The jocks turned around at the sound of Alice's voice, a smirk painted on their faces, when they eyed the female. "Why would we do that, baby doll?" One of them walked closer, trying to intimidate her with his height, but Alice was having none of it. "Don't call me 'baby doll'!" She snapped, her arms crossed over her chest. "And no 'baby doll' would chose someone, who is hitting someone who is clearly not as strong as them. This fight shows how cowardly the two of you truly are, fighting someone weaker isn't something to be proud of." The jocks didn't seem to like Alice's statement, as soon as she had finished her rant the two of them started to corner her against one of the brick walls, the scrawny boy tried to pull them away from her, earning a punch to his guts, forcing him down to his knees. "Moving from a weaker victim to a female victim, huh?" The voice broke the tension of the alley. Alice twisted her neck to find another boy. He pulled one of the jocks away from her, before he pushed him towards the street, making him stumble and land on his bottom. "Next time find someone your own size." He grabbed the other one at his collar. "And how about a fair and even number." Alice snapped, when the two jocks started to stumble away from the three of them._

_As soon as they had been out of sight, Alice started to pick up the books she had dropped out of shock, when the two had advanced towards her. She was about to grab her last book, when the scrawny kid handed it to her. "Thank you." Alice smiled at him, arranging her books in her arms. "Are you alright?" She looked him up and down, trying to figure out, how much damage they had done, before she stepped in. "Nothing, I'm not used to." He gave her a small smile, before turning to the other boy. "Let me guess 'you had him on the ropes'" Their saviour raised his brow, waiting for the scrawny kid to answer. Alice had a feeling, that this had not been the first time, he had saved the other boy from getting beaten up. "Something like that." He grumbled, making the other boy shake his head. Alice figured this was her cue to leave, so she turned around leaving the alley._

_It had almost been a month later, when Alice was once again on her way home from school, when she saw the two boys leaving an alley once again. The skinny boy was facing her, saying something to the other one, making him turn around to face Alice. She gave them a small smile and was about to walk past them, when the boy who saved them stopped her. "Excuse me, I don't think Steve here ever thanked you for saving him." Alice looked at him wide eyed, his voice alone made her heart rate pick up. "I don't think I am the one, who saved him after all, they punched him once more, when he tried to intervene." Alice stated, furrowing her brows, when she remembered. "I think it's more accurate that I have to thank you for saving us." Alice gave him a small smile. "How about a dance as a 'thank you' than?" A heartbreaking smile was on his face and Alice was sure her heart had stopped. "I usually don't dance with people without knowing their name." The smile on his face grew, when the words left her mouth. "I'm Bucky." "Alice"_

 

* * *

 

She had continued to watch over them after she was forced to feign her death. She had kept a close eye on Steve, as he got more into trouble than Bucky, which had been the reason she stayed behind in New York with Steve instead of going with Bucky. That was a move she regretted the second she followed Steve to Germany. She had been angry with herself for not going with Bucky, she might had been able to prevent his first longer stay to a HYDRA base. Her worry shifted after that incident, she knew that thanks to the super soldier serum, Steve didn't need her help not as much as Bucky might need her. She was proven right, when Bucky fell off the train. She started grinding her teeth at the memory of her failure all those years ago.

The memory was constantly replaying in her head, it was the theme of her nightmares and the reason she hated to be alone. When she was alone she had time to think and like a sick joke her mind always brought her back to that moment, making her think about all the possible ways she might have been able to save him. "If you keep grinding your teeth like that, you will need a new pair very soon." Bucky teased her, a small smile playing on his lips. Alice's jaw relaxed, before she shrugged, not being able to come up with a good comeback.

"Wasn't Steve supposed to be here a few days ago?" She voiced her concern, but quickly regretted it, when the smile vanished and worry took over Bucky's face. "He was." Bucky stated, before he turned around into the hallways, leaving Alice on her own in the kitchen area. "Well, it's good we had that conversation." Alice grumbled to herself. "I heard that!" Bucky's voice ringed through the cottage, making Alice giggle. When Bucky returned to the kitchen, he was fumbling with his phone. He looked up to see Alice grinning at him. He just shook his head, before staring back at his phone, looking for a missed text or call, which would explain why Steve wasn't here yet.


	6. Encounter

Alice hardly moved away from the window, keeping it always in there corner of her eyes, waiting for any kind of movement that could indicate that Steve was here. "Stark isn't answering." Bucky informed her, when he sat down on a chair at the breakfast bar opposite her. "It is all very strange isn't it?" She was leaning on the breakfast bar, looking at Bucky's phone in his hands. "I'm tempted to go back to the tower to check, if they are alright." Bucky stared out of the window, his metal hand was gripping the bar, the wood slightly denting from the tight grip of his metal arm. "We can't, Bucky," Alice looked sadly at Bucky, he was worried, she was too. "We might put them even more into danger, than they already are." She reasoned, her head snapping towards the window, when she saw something moving from the corner of her eye. "There is something out there." Her voice had been low. Bucky's eyes followed her's, before he started to scan their surroundings through the windows. He turned his gaze back to his phone, before he started to type something 'where did you put the gun?' He looked at her, checking if she was reading it. Alice looked towards the freezer, Bucky gave her a hardly noticeable nod, before he stood up and walked over to the freezer and pulled out the small weapon. "Let's go for a walk, doll." Bucky grabbed her hand, before he pulled her towards the door in at the end of the hallway, it led to the back of the house. "Are you ready?" Bucky turned to Alice, who gave him a quick nod, before he opened the door and quickly stepped outside.

They had sneaked around the house until they could see the tree, where Alice had seen the movement earlier. Alice was standing behind Bucky, holding his hand tightly. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins, while she felt this weird mixture of anxiety and safety cursing through her. Bucky shot a short glance at her, before he leaned in "Stay here and don't move until I get you." Bucky instructed her, before she could complain, he dashed to the line of trees to their side. Alice let out a groan, she was supposed to protect him, not the other way around. Staying where she was, would mean that she wouldn't know if something happened to him. An idea popped into her head, before she glanced around the trees and within a second she teleported into a tree, which she reckoned gave her a pretty good view of Bucky. It didn't take her long to find the glint of his metal arm, between the trees. She teleported to one of the branches, which were closer to the ground to have a better view. Movement in front of them made her head snap towards it. She moved a bit on the branch, making the leaves rustle. Bucky's head snapped up and his eyes met hers, panic rose in her but quickly vanished, when she saw him shake his head with a small smirk planted on his face. Alice relaxed again, before she teleported to the tree in front of them to get closer to the movement. She couldn't see what had caused the movement, because the view of the culprit was blocked by some branches and their leaves.

Alice closed her eyes focusing on the culprits, sensing that two beings had caused the movement, she turned to Bucky, who's gaze moved to her, once he saw her move. She held up two fingers, signalling him the amount, he gave her a short nod, before he advanced them. "Don't move!" Bucky barked, aiming the gun at them. "Steve? Sam?" Alice's head snapped to Bucky at Bucky's question, before she dropped down from the tree, right behind Bucky. Steve was standing in front of them, while Sam was leaning against the tree, holding his arm. "Are you alright?" Alice questioned Sam, before she stepped towards him and pried Sam's hand from his arm. "I don't know." Sam groaned, pain clearly evident in his voice. "What happened?" Bucky questioned his best friend, while Alice teleported Sam into the living room, hoping it would cause the man less pain than walking. "We were attacked at the tower." Steve sighed, while he and Bucky started to walk towards the cottage. "It was the middle of the night and agents were swarming the place. No one got seriously hurt, a few cuts and bruises, but we all fled before they even reached the fifth floor." "Where are the others?" Bucky questioned, considering if the cottage was big enough for all of them, should they all come here. "Everyone went into hiding, I got a phone with everyone's number but no one is supposed to call unless absolutely necessary"

The two of them entered the cottage and found Sam sitting in one of the armchairs, Alice had a tight grip on Sam's arm. "Cap! This is amazing! I can literally feel the blood flowing through my arm towards the wound!" Sam gushed, looking at his arm in awe. "What?" Steve looked confused. "Improving the blood flow can help healing an injury." Alice mumbled, keeping her concentration on Sam's arm. "You can control his blood flow?" Steve seemed impress and confused, but also intrigued about his childhood friend's abilities. "What are you?" Sam asked her almost jokingly, but it made Alice flinch, so slightly, Bucky almost missed it. "A Necromancer" He mumbled without thinking, but quickly everyone's gaze was on her. Alice was the first to break the silence, "You remember." The expression on her face, made it hard for Bucky to identify, whether she was glad that he remembered or not. "A Necromancer?" Steve looked at her in disbelief, while the female just nodded. "So what exactly are your abilities?" Sam looked at her more intrigued. "Teleporting, controlling minds and manipulating life force, which means healing people, killing them and bring them back from the dead." Bucky listed, surprising himself when he remembered. Alice gave an agreeing nod.

"Tony's nickname for you makes so much sense now." Steve mumbled to himself, earning a confused look from both Bucky and Alice, who had yet to hear the billionaire's nickname for the female, meanwhile Sam watched Bucky and Alice staring at each other. Whilst they had been talking the pain in his arm lessened and lessened until it was completely gone. "Damn! That is so much better, than the cast I expected to get." Sam chuckled, when Alice let go of his arm and gave him a thankful smile, for his try to lighten the mood. "So you can literally make someone drop dead with nothing more than the flick of your hand?" Steve was visible uncomfortable with Alice abilities. It made Bucky tense, he didn't want Steve to treat her differently because of her abilities and the idea of his best friend not getting along with Alice made an uneasy feeling grow in his guts. "I could, but I hardly use them, not unless it is absolutely necessary." Alice explained, sitting down on the couch. "Like when HYDRA tried to brainwash me for the first time." Bucky mumbled, a feeling of excitement filling him, the more and more he remembered. "Yeah, but all they did was knock me out and then brainwash you." Alice grumbled, annoyance lacing her voice. Without thinking Bucky sat down next to Alice, his hands cupping her face, forcing her to look at him. "You tried to help, Allie," Steve smiled at the scene in front of him, especially when Bucky used the name he had called her back in the day. He silently nudging Sam, pulling him into the hallway. "That is what counts, doll. I didn't expect you to save me single handedly, you were hopelessly overpowered. You, however, tried and that is what matters to me." Alice threw herself into his arms, his words had reminded her how much she actually loved him, he might not remember it, but she was so helplessly in love with him.


	7. Information Exchange

When Steve woke up the next day the sun was barely rising. He stretched, before he left the bedroom, chuckling silently at a still on the floor sleeping Sam. A smirk was planted on his face, while he walked down the hallway, remembering their little game of rock, paper, scissors. He had won obviously, that's how he got to sleep in the bed, while Sam was sleeping on camping mat on the floor. He entered the living area to find Bucky and Alice sleeping on the couch. The grin on his face grew. He was tempted to get Sam in here to show him or take a picture, but he knew better than to embarrass the two of them like that. So instead he slipped out of the door for a little run and to check out their surroundings.

Two hours later he returned, the couch was now occupied by Sam, who was watching some TV show, while Alice was in the kitchen. "I hope you are hungry." Alice smiled at him, while she flipped some of the bacon stripes in the pan. "And I hope you cooked enough, 'cause those two super soldiers eat a hell of a lot." Sam grumbled, pushing himself off the couch and leaned against the breakfast bar, getting closer to the food, so he could grab some before either Bucky or Steve had the chance to take all of it. "I've been living with one of them for the last two weeks and spend time with him before that do you really think I didn't notice?" Alice sassed, placing the bacon on a tray, before pushing it into the oven too keep it warm. Sam raised an eyebrow. "Are you getting sassy with me?" A playful smile had taken over his face. "Only if you deserved it." Alice smirked, while Steve watched their back and forth with amusement. "Where is he by the way? I'm starving and I need food." Sam complained, at the exact moment, when Bucky came out of the hall. "Perfect timing, Buck." Steve grinned, before he started to get out some plates and Alice carried the food to the table.

After breakfast was over, Alice excused herself to take a shower, while the three men stayed at the table. "So is there a plan to get the tower back?" Bucky had waited to address the invasion of the tower until Alice was out of the room. He didn't want her to get involved and there was no way for her to get involved, if she didn't know about it. "We thought it was best to lay low for a bit, regain our strength, before we strike." Steve informed him. "And who are they?" "Best guess is HYDRA." Bucky sighed, of course they had come to the tower. "They will never give up." Bucky growled, burying his head in his hands. "Well, now they lost not only one of their assets but two." Sam stated, while Bucky took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "They came after the tower, when they realised that we have removed Alice's trackers." Steve explained, "However they didn't find you and we expect them to get a bit careless now. Their chance of really finding either of you is slim. The world knows about them and they lost Alice, who in the end was their only way to find you." Bucky nodded his head, his eyes traveling to the door, checking for any sign of Alice. "Nat and me figured as long as the two of you are together they won't get to you." Steve continued, looking at his best friend, whose gaze was still on the door. "I don't want her to know." Bucky's statement didn't surprised Steve at all. After all their time together, he knew how protective Bucky was. "Oh, that never ends well." Sam cut in, his brows raised. "I say we tell her, before she gets mad. I don't know about you but I don't want to be on her bad side with her abilities and all." Sam was holding up his hand in defence, before he eyed the two super soldiers in front of him. "And stuff like that is always found out." 

The three of them had to end their conversation there, as Alice entered the room. She stopped after a couple of steps, when she saw all three of them staring at her. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at them, before Sam jumped out of his chair, cutting her off, before she could even open her mouth. "So have you already checked out the closest city?" Bucky and Alice shook their head. They had hardly left the cottage, only to go for a run, check their surrounding or to hunt. Bucky had actually been quite impressed with Alice's hunting skills, she had just shrugged. "I was supposed to be dead, I couldn't just walk into the closest store and buy food." She had explained, before she had teleported their prey to the cottage.

"I don't think it wise to go into the city now, after all the two of you just escaped them yesterday." Alice stated, before she let herself fall onto the couch. "They won't notice us." Sam tried to talk them into leaving the cottage. "You are here for not even a day and you are already bored. Mate, I'm really looking forward to staying here with you." She grunted, earning a chuckle from Steve, before he mumbled a 'here we go again'. Bucky looked at Steve in confusion, who just mouthed 'wait for it'. "She is doing it again. Girl, you would love living with me if you are honest." Sam rolled his eyes, before he moved to one of the armchairs. "Nah, I have a feeling I wouldn't." Alice smirked at the Falcon, who was looking at her with a feigned shocked expression. "Barnes, you should keep your girl on a leash." Sam stated, before switching his attention back to the TV, while Alice and Bucky stared at their feet, their faces turning a dark shade of red. Steve was grinning at their flustered state, before he patted Bucky's back and got up as well.

It had been a bit of an awkward morning for Bucky and Alice. Bucky had been the first to wake up, he had been a bit surprised to find Alice still in his arms, but he didn't have any intentions to move. However panic rose in him, when he felt Alice stir. He had thought it was best to move her into a proper bed or at least out of his arms. He had feared her rejection, even though it had been her, who had started the embrace. Yet, when he finally did move it had been too late, soon he found a pair of grey eyes sleepily looking up at him. He had seen her eyes widen, when she registered the position they were in. She scrambled out of his arms, before mumbling a 'sorry'. He had told her that it had been alright and before the two of them could say any more, Sam had entered the room. Shortly after Bucky had excused himself to take a shower.

Bucky was confused, but who wouldn't be in his position. He had remembered a lot about his life before his time as the Winter Soldier, but there were still parts missing and one big part seemed to be Alice. He remembered bits about their time at HYDRA, but what their actual relationship was and had been, confused him more than anything else. "You up for getting some firewood?" Steve was still standing next to him and with a nod, the two of them left the cottage. They turned to the side of the house, where some firewood just waited for them to chop it to the appropriate size. "How long have we known Alice for?" Bucky caught Steve off guard with his question, although Steve had just waited for the moment, Bucky would finally ask. "Really know her or known of her existence?" Steve was smiling a tiny bit, thinking back to their first proper meeting with Alice. "Both, I guess." Bucky started to pick up some of the wood. "She lived in the same area we did and went to the same school, we didn't officially met her until we were 16 though. She disappeared when she turned 20." Steve explained, looking at Bucky waiting for some kind of reaction, but Bucky only nodded his head, seeming satisfied with the new information. For now.


	8. Truth

Bucky had agreed to sleep on the couch, while Alice, after a long discussion, finally gave in and took the bedroom, although all three men could see that the female was less than pleased that she had to give in. Steve on the other hand was glad, that she did give in, knowing from previous experience, that the two could have gone one the whole night. Sam and Steve had watched the two of them with amusement. Alice had tried to talk Bucky into taking the bedroom, but he just didn't react at all. Until the brown haired woman was so fed up, that she in a fit yelled that she would take it, if he would just move to show he is still alive. A small smile had taken over Steve's face, as the exchange reminded him of a few arguments the two of them had had in the past, never anything serious, but always ending in Alice giving in. Now the female was standing in the kitchen area, eating cookies and sulking, while the three men were sitting on the couch. Bucky could basically feel her glares on the back of his head, before he turned around to face her and she just narrowed her eyes even more, making him grin. He stood up to join her. "It is almost like you want me to share the bedroom with you." His voice had been low, so low that she would understand him but the other two wouldn't. The blush that was quickly forming on her cheeks made him smile. "Maybe I do." Alice raised a brow, a small teasing smile tugging on her lips, when she met his blue eyes, making a grin grew on his face. "Well, in that case I would feel horrible to disappoint you." Bucky had a cocky grin on his face at this moment, reminding her so much of the 16 year old boy she had fallen in love with all those years ago. She was about to say something else, when he had already turned away, but not before shooting her a quick wink. "Cocky bastard." Alice mumbled under her breath, shoving another cookie into her mouth.

Alice had expected that the room would be filled with an awkward tension as soon as Sam and Steve would leave the room, but she had been wrong. The two of them sat in a comfortable silence, both laying on the couch. Bucky broke the silence first, "I could really stay out here, I don't mind, I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable, Allie." "Why would I be uncomfortable?" Her brows were furrowed. "You will be sleeping on the floor." After that comment her head rose to face him a huge grin on her face, causing him to chuckle. "In that case, I'd rather take the couch." Alice grin turned into a smile and she suddenly seemed to be in deep thoughts. Bucky couldn't help but stare at her. Seeing her, being near her always had made him feel calm, comfortable and something he hadn't quite figured out yet. He had an idea, what it could be but he wasn't sure. He didn't remember ever really experiencing that feeling, definitely not during his time at HYDRA and those were the memories which were clearest to him. "Don't think too much, I can see the steam coming out of your ears." Alice was smirking at him. "Oh, and I think I can see the gears turning in your head." Bucky shook his head, a smile on his face. He just couldn't help but smile, when he saw her smile or laugh.

"So, what is making all those gears turning in your head?" Alice had turned serious again. Curiosity had gotten the better of her and she wanted to know, what thoughts had his face scrunched up like that. Bucky considered, whether he should tell her the truth or just make up an excuse, but who better to tell them what they were than her? "I was thinking about us." He finally admitted, Alice looked at him in shock, she clearly hadn't expected this answer, so all she said was a stuttered 'us?'. Bucky nodded, "For the last couple of days I tried to figure out, what you are to me." He had admitted it and frankly he was not sure what to expect from her. "I-I don't know ... how to explain all of it." Alice was scratching her neck, looking at the man next to her, before she sat up to face him. "I don't want to shock your or even scare you away." Bucky nodded his head understanding. "I know you knew me before the war. Steve told me and I think I remember you from school." "You better." Alice chuckled. "You dipped by braid into ink once and my mum had to cut off all the ink stained hair. She scolded me for not paying attention to what _you_ were doing, as if it would have been my fault." Bucky smiled, the memories of her coming back to him. "You saved Steve from some jocks once." Alice nodded, excitement filling her eyes when she realised that Bucky started to remember her. "You had to save me though." "You went dancing with me as a 'thank you', after I had to wait a month to see you again, because you left so quickly." He was smiling fondly at the memory, while Alice started to feel the tears in her eyes. "Then you were just gone. You just disappeared." Alice nodded her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I had to, Bucky." Before a sob could even leave her mouth, Bucky had pulled her into his arms. He placed a kiss on her temple. "I thought you were dead." He pecked her forehead, before he pulled away a bit to look at her. "I thought I lost you forever. I never want to lose you again."

The feeling of his lips against her was so familiar, but still different. It had been too long, much too long for her likening. The two of them had left the couch and retreated into their bedroom. "I don't really think your mother would approve of us sleeping in the same bed." Bucky stated a grin on his face, when they were about to climb into bed. The moment his words left his lips, he regretted them. Alice's face had turned pale as a sheet and sadness filled her eyes. "What is wrong, doll?" As quickly as he could he had closed the distance between them, one of his hands grabbing her's, while the other angled her face so her eyes would meet his. Alice shook her head, tears forming in her eyes, before she stepped forward, burying her face in his chest. Bucky wanted to slap himself here and there. Clearly what he said had upset her deeply. "I'm sorry." Alice stuttered, when she pulled away, offering him a forced smiled, before she bit her lip, trying to will the tears to be gone. "You can talk to me, Allie. What is bothering you?" However Alice didn't feel ready to talk about it quite yet. So she croaked a 'not now' and pulled him onto the bed, falling asleep curled up into his side.

Bucky could feel Alice's steady breathing on his chest, she had fallen asleep quite some time ago, Bucky however couldn't manage to fall asleep. He was raking his memory for Alice's mother. He had triggered something, when he had made the comment. He tried to remember the time when Alice disappeared, he had remembered being invited to dinner with her parents quite a few times. And suddenly the memory of her disappearance hit him like a brick.

* * *

"Tell her 'happy birthday' from me. I would have told her at school but she wasn't there." Steve was standing behind him, while Bucky straightened the tie he was wearing. He was invited to dinner with Alice's parents, he had to look good. "Will do." Bucky smiled. "See you later, punk." Bucky grinned at his friend. "See you, jerk." Steve replied, before Bucky closed the door behind him. Today was Alice's 20th birthday and she had asked him to join her and her parents for dinner. He was looking forward to see her, like Steve he had expected to see her at school or at least, when she was on her way home, but he had not seen her all day.

Bucky soon reached Alice's house. He knocked three times without anyone opening the door. A frown had taken over his face, when he couldn't even hear Alice's dog barking. He knew where the Macbay family was hiding their emergency key, so without waiting another second, he retrieved it and unlocked the front door. The house was quiet, it was almost scary. Bucky looked around the kitchen and living room, but there was no trace of the family. His knees buckled under him, when he stepped into the dining room. The first thing he had seen was her father, blood was covering his face, he lay in a puddle of his own blood and bloody hand prints contrasted on the crisp white shirt. Her mother laid a few steps away, there was no trace of blood around her, just her hands were covered in blood, probably her husbands. She was white as a sheet, literally. Her eyes were open, they seemed distant, while they were directed at the ceiling.

Panic shoot through Bucky, when Alice flashed through his mind. He quickly pushed himself to his feet and run up the stairs to Alice's room, only to find it empty. He found some of her clothes covered in blood and there was blood in her ensuite but other than that no indication of Alice, her whereabouts or her health.

 


	9. Promises

Bucky woke, when something kicked him in the shin. With a yelp he sat up, looking at Alice, who was lashing out in her sleep. As soon as his sleepy mind registered that it had been Alice who kicked him, he quickly placed his hands on her arms, trying to keep the female still, while he coaxed her awake. "Allie, doll, wake up!" He shook her shoulders gently, but neither did Alice wake up nor did she stopped moving so frenziedly. "Alice! Come on, wake up!" He shook her shoulders once more, not as gentle as before. Alice sat up gasping, her her eyes flitting around the room until they settled on Bucky. "Bucky" She panted, before throwing herself into his arms. "It was just a nightmare, darling." Bucky tightened his arms around her, rubbing soothing circles on her back, while her head was buried in his neck.

It had taken a couple of minutes to calm Alice down, but eventually with lot of sweet nothings whispered into her ear and a few kisses around her face, Bucky managed to get Alice calm enough. They had laid down, Bucky on his back, while Alice rested on his chest. "You want to talk about it, doll?" Alice shook her head, before she cuddled more into his chest. Bucky pecked her temple, before he started tracing pattern on her skin, lulling her back to sleep. He understood that she didn't want to talk about her dream, he often felt the same way. However, he also always felt better after he told someone about it or wrote it down in one of his journals. If he felt like talking to someone however, that someone mostly turned out to be Steve. He never seemed to take 'no' for an answer and bothered Bucky until he finally told him. He accepted Alice's answer though, mostly because something told him that she would tell him, when she felt ready to.

Bucky woke up a few hours later, he half expected Alice to be already out of bed, but a smile grew on his face, when he saw her still sleeping next to him. He took his time to admire her. A undesirable feeling of relief had taken over his body, he was finally reunited with her and he remembered her. A content smile took over his face, at the thought. He remembered not everything yet but what was missing were just little bits. "What is that smile for?" At the sound of her voice, Bucky turned his face to look at her. Bucky just shook his head the smile still on his face, before he leaned down to place a kiss on her lips. "Let's get up. I'm starving." Bucky grinned at her, before he sat up, pulling her with him.

The two of them entered the living room to find neither Steve or Sam in the room. "We are all alone." Alice wiggled her eyebrows at Bucky, who grabbed her by the waist pulling her against him. "We should make the most of their absence than." Bucky grinned, before pulling her into a kiss. When they pulled away, due to the lack of oxygen, Alice couldn't help but giggle. "God, I missed this." She giggled, leaning her forehead against his. Bucky chuckled, pulling her into a kiss once more. "I could do this all day." Bucky breathed against her lips. "Please don't." Sam's voice interrupted their little moment. Alice pouted at Bucky, he just chuckled and pecked her lips, before he pulled away.

Two weeks past with no interruption and no message from the others. Steve was starting to grow restless. It didn't sit right with the Captain that HYDRA had taken over the tower and they were not doing anything. "We should start gathering the others to take HYDRA down once and for all." He, Bucky and Sam had been outside of the cottage chopping or rather ripping firewood into smaller pieces. "Let's send those bastard back to where they belong." Bucky grumbled, ripped a rather large piece of wood into two. Sam stared at Bucky in amazement, "When do we start?"

"They are on their way." Steve was leaning against the breakfast bar his phone in his hand. "Who is on their way?" Alice turned from the stove to face the super soldier. "The other Avengers." Bucky informed her, before he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind her. "Is is because of HYDRA?" Alice leaned against Bucky, while the two super soldiers nodded. "It is time we take them down." Alice nodded, "I want to help." She could feel Bucky tensing behind her. The two men seemed to have a silent conversation with their eyes, while Alice stood between them. She spun around to face Bucky, she glared him down while she spoke, "If you leave me here to 'protect me', I will find you. And we both know that you could be in the middle of nowhere and I would still be next to you in a second." She could see Bucky's eyes flickering up to look at Steve for help, it made her chuckle on the inside. She never thought that she would be intimidating in the slightest. "She got a point you know." Steve's word surprised her, a chuckle leaving her lips, when she saw the glare Bucky was shooting his best friend. "Her abilities could be very helpful, Bucky. I know you are just trying to protect her, but she can heal and she can fight." Steve tried to reason, but it didn't help the glare on Bucky's face. Alice placed her hands on his face, forcing him to look at her. "And if it really should get too dangerous, I'll be out of there in a second." Bucky sighed, knowing that no matter what he would say, the second Alice realised they were gone, she would appear right next to him, probably scaring him to death. "Promise me to immediately leave, when I tell you to." He leaned his forehead against her. "You are not going to question me." Alice nodded, before she pecked his lips.


	10. Revelation

The following days the rest of the Avengers arrived at the cottage. Bucky could see Alice eyeing them all, clearly unsure whether she should really trust them, after all she had been taught to kill everyone of them on sight. Now here she was trying to trust them, when she had nothing to base this trust on apart from Bucky's and Steve's word. "We can't stay here for long." Barton took Bucky's attention away from Alice. "There is not enough space for everyone." Romanoff continued and a scoff from Stark quickly followed, "Do you really think this is all? That I really build just a little cottage, if you do, my friend, I feel deeply wounded." The billionaire stalked over to the fireplace, leaning against it casually. "Of course the house has a basement." "A basement? You could've told us about that." Alice complaint, earning nothing but a shrug from Tony.

Without further ado, Tony shouted out to his A.I, who apparently was also present in the cottage. "You really could have mentioned that." Steve almost scolded Stark. "Could have, should have, would have, Capsicle." The billionaire teased, before stepping into the elevator, which had just appeared in the place of the fireplace. Bucky almost chuckled at Alice expression, she had looked so confused, suspicious and almost angry. "This is so clichee, Stark" Sam piped up, before stepping closer. Meanwhile Bucky was shot a glare from Alice, due to his chuckling. He moved a bit closer to the female, leaning down to whisper in her ear, "Relax, doll. Nothing will happen, they are here to help." A sigh escaped Alice's lips, before she gave a short nod and turned her head to look at him. "Very well, should you be wrong however, I will have every right to tell you 'told you so'." Bucky chuckled at her respond. "I'm looking forward to it." Bucky shot her a wink, before he pulled her into the elevator.

The ride in the elevator was quiet, Steve, Bucky and Alice were sulking, that they weren't told about this underground space, while Sam seemed to be excited to see what the billionaire was hiding in there. Alice was proper pouting, when they discovered that the basement included a training room. She had been complained to Bucky just this morning about the lack of training. They couldn't just start training outside. Especially if one of them used, as a weapon of choice, a gun, which people in the nearby city might hear. They had started training hand to hand combat a week before, but with Bucky's metal arm and Steve's super soldier serum the fights were never really fair, although they had never been fair from the beginning, as Alice was able to teleport out of their hold. For an actual fair fight the female was only left to spar with Sam, who was reluctant to fight her, because 'she might just accidentally kill him'.

Apart from the training room, which apparently included 3D protections of various enemies and a floor consisting of various panels, which would create different obstacle courses, the basement consisted of a lab for Stark and Banner and a few more bedrooms. This revelation was followed by some cheering from Sam, who happily announced, that he finally didn't have to sleep on the floor anymore. Alice was bouncing the rest of the tour, rushing everyone, so she could finally have a go in the training room. At one point, Bucky just wrapped his metal arm around her, trapping her arms, so she would finally stand still. Alice shot him an annoyed look, while he just grinned at her. "You were never a patient person, but I think it has gotten even worse." Bucky chuckled, pulling her a bit closer, pecking her temple. The kiss had caused a smile to form on her lips and she stayed still for a while. When she looked up her eyes locked with the red haired woman, Natasha. She eyed Alice with suspicion, Alice however couldn't blame her. When they had first met after all, all they knew was that she was a tracker for Hydra, who had even more trackers implanted into her.

As soon as the tour was over, the rest of the Avengers settled into the bedrooms,while Alice grabbed Bucky's hand and pulled him to the training room. "This is going to be so much fun." The brown haired woman gushed, while tabbing on the touchscreen, selecting on of the obstacle courses. "And even better, I might even stand a chance this time." She had turned to him with a wide grin. "We'll see, Allie." Bucky grinned, handing Alice one of the vests, which would react to the light shot by the guns or bows. Alice was very intrigued by this technology, it allowed everyone to fight with their weapon of choice and no one got hurt. One could even use knives, which were made out some sort of laser, which would disappear as soon as it hit the vest. Because Alice couldn't use her powers, unless she wanted to risk Bucky's life, what she definitely didn't want, she had chosen a few throwing knives and a couple normal knives. Bucky took a few knives himself, as well as two guns, before he kissed her. "Let's see who wins now, doll." Bucky had a cocky grin on his face, he gave her one last kiss, before the two of them entered the arena.

The fight had been close. Bucky had definitely underestimated his lover or at least her abilities. Somehow it had completely skipped his mind that Alice could teleport and she definitely made use of that. Apart from her powers, Alice was also incredible light on her feat and had managed to sneak up on him a couple of times. He hadn't even realised until his vest started to flash. However he had got her a few times as well. The super soldier quickly realised that Alice was slightly disorientated after she teleported and he learned to take it to his advantage, which made Alice teleport less in response.

After what felt like hours of training, the two of them decided it was enough. Alice couldn't help but stare at Bucky, when he took off the vest as well as the shirt he wore underneath. He was in such a good shape, Alice didn't even realise her jaw dropping, until Bucky closed it with a cocky smirk on his face. _Oh no._ Alice was just waiting for a cocky remark for being caught staring. "Enjoying the view." And there it was. "I just might." Alice grinned at him, a chuckle escaped his lips, before he wrapped his arm around her, pressing her body against his. She quickly grabbed his face, pulling his lips against her. He put a hand on the back of her head, deepening the kiss. After some time they pulled away to get some air, before Bucky could pull away, Alice placed kisses down his neck, earning a grunt from her lover. With a cocky smile now painted on her face, she moved her head back to face him. She was about to make a remark, when he used his hand on the back of her head to pull her closer to him and kissed her again.

"Why is it always me?" A voice interrupted their little makeout session. When they turned around they came face to face with Sam, who was just glaring at them. "They send me to get you. We want to start planning."


	11. Entrée

"Two more days and we should make out move." Natasha was leaning on the back of a chair. "According to their coms, most of the men will move out to their base nearby and only a few will remain." Alice was sitting on one of the chairs, still looking at the 3D projection of the tower in front of her. "They think we've given up or that some of us haven't survived" Barton explained, looking at Natasha and Bruce, when he mentioned the last part. Alice had had to heal them, when they had arrived, they had both been stitched up, but it would have taken ages to heal completely in a normal human way. The assassin had been very wary to let Alice handle it, almost as if she was expecting her to kill her and than reveal she was still working for Hydra. That all of this was some sort of scheme to get Bucky back to Hydra, but in the end Alice had proven her wrong. "How sure are you that they are actually leaving and all of this isn't just a trap?" Alice looked around, eyeing the others. "We can't know for sure, but even if there are more, they won't be much of a challenge." Stark cockily remarked. "Plus we got the little devil on our side." Bucky tensed at that comment, Alice realised and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Just out of curiosity how many people can you kill at one?" The billionaire twisted to take a look at the Necromancer. "I took out a whole room once, it was more by accident actually. Otherwise I only managed to concentrate on two or three people." Alice admitted, keeping her eyes fixed on her hands on the table, trying to avoid eye contact with any of them. No one seemed to comment on that revelation, until Steve looked up at her, "No one survived in that room?" Alice's eyes shot up to meet her friends eyes. "One did." She answered, looking up at Bucky, who squinted his eyes for a second. "I remember that." He finally mumbled. "They tried to brainwash me." Alice nodded. "So you can tell a difference between enemy and friend." Alice nodded once more, scooting closer to Bucky. The conversation had turned more to her than the plan and it was making her uncomfortable.

"Rest, train, we will leave in two days." Steve commanded, taking the attention away from her, before he stood up and left. The others quickly followed, leaving Alice and Bucky on their own. "I need a shower." Alice scrunched up her face, when she pushed to her feet. Bucky chuckled at her comment, giving her a curious look, when she didn't move. "What are you waiting for?" Alice's eyes flickered to him, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Maybe I'm waiting for you to join me." She gave him a cocky smile, which turned into a grin, when she saw his wide eyes. "Or maybe not." She shrugged, turned on her heels and left him sitting shocked in the dining area.

Two days later the team was getting ready to leave. Alice pulled on her suit, struggling to close the buckle on her sleeve. "Let me." Bucky brushed her hands away gently, closing the buckle, before he turned her around to face him. He placed his hand on her cheek, stroking over her cheekbone, as a sad look took over his face. "Don't think about what could happen." Alice voice was low, the seriousness of the situation overwhelming her as well. "We will survive this. We will be together." She tried to sound as sternly as possible, making a small smile appear on his face. "We will survive." Bucky agreed, pulling her in for a kiss.

The silence on the quinjet was unnerving. The calm before the storm. Alice had been stunned, when Stark had led them to another part of the basement, which revealed the aircraft. She had to hold in a chuckle, when she had heard Steve mumbling a 'of course' and Sam a 'that's so Stark'. Alice shot a look at Bucky, who squeezed her hand reassuringly. This was her first real mission and it was quite unsettling. She was scared, even though neither Steve or Bucky would let anyone harm her, she knew they wouldn't always be there to help her. What scared her more than being killed, however, was the thought of Bucky getting caught by Hydra. "Don't think about what could happen." Alice smiled at Bucky using her words against him. "We will survive." Bucky reminded her, placing a kiss on her temple.

They landed the quinjet on the roof, which in Alice opinion might not have been the smartest move. Alice stuck with Bucky and Steve, who were cleaning the floors from top to bottom, while Sam, Thor and Stark came the opposite way. They had decided that Bruce should stay on the aircraft and be their last resource. Barton stayed with him, in case they needed to make a quick exit. It caught Alice, Bucky and Steve off guard, when the light turned off plunging them into darkness. Alice could hear struggling and a minute later the light turned back on, revealing Alice on her own in the hallway. Alice turned around, searching frantically for any sign of the two super soldiers, but there was nothing. She started running down the corridor, shouting their name but there was nothing, no other men, nothing. Alice could feel the panic rising in her chest, she kicked in a door, finding a room of Hydra agents. They all looked at her in shock, while she quickly scanned the room, for her friend and lover. When she realised none of them were in the room, she clenched her fists, before she quickly opened them, forcing every agent in the room to drop dead. Without given the corpses a second glance, she turned around walking to the next door, kicking it down as well. The room was empty, growling Alice turned around, running straight into Sam. "Where are Bucky and Cap?" Sam glanced into the empty room behind Alice, before he was pushed out of her way. "Alice!" She could hear Sam shouting her name, while she continued her rampage down the hall.

Sam was struggling to follow Alice, he stared at the petite woman in shock, when she killed a group of agents with nothing more than clenching her fist and opening it again. He told the others, that there was no sign of Bucky and Steve over the coms. They agreed that they would look for them, while Sam tried to stop Alice's frenzy. Sam however, didn't believe that he could do anything to stop her and so he was praying, that they would find Bucky or Steve soon to stop her. He grew more and more concerned, when the way she killed the agents grew more and more gruesome. Before she had hardly left any trace of blood, but her latest kill had the agents bleeding from their eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Sam would never admitted, but even after all he had gone through, this way of killing made even him feel sick. No matter how much he tried to talk Alice into stopping all she did in response was glare at him. Until she had enough and growled at the Falcon, "Stop or you'll be next." Sam stayed behind after that warning, trying to get some help from the others, but none of them had even talked more than a few words with the Necromancer, how should they calm her.

* * *

 

Bucky felt dizzy, when he came to his senses. The darkness was gone and he and Steve were in one of the labs, he glanced at Steve who was still out, before he looked around the room. One of the walls consisted of different screens, displaying rooms within the tower, showing their friends fighting. One screen quickly caught his gaze. It was showing Alice and Sam. Alice had Sam pushed against the wall, glaring at him, before she turned and walked away, leaving bloody footsteps behind. Sam huffed, before he quickly followed her, leaving some space between them. He checked for the others, they all seemed fine, Thor and Stark were still fighting agents, while Natasha seemed to look for something. He heard movement behind him and turned to see Steve getting up. "What happened?" Steve was rubbing his hand, looking around, before his gaze settled on Bucky.


	12. Ambush

The two of them stared at the screens in front of them. They had tried to open one of the doors, but they wouldn't budge. "So we are forced to watch." Bucky grumbled, looking at one of the screens, which showed Alice killing another batch of agents. "We need to get out of here." He groaned, before walked back to the door, trying to open it once more. He threw his whole body against the door, praying for it to give in, but again nothing. He turned around to look at the screens. "She is on a rampage. I hope she can really tell friend from enemy." Steve stated, still observing the screens or rather Alice's actions. "She can otherwise, Sam would have already dropped dead." Bucky grumbled, before he collapsed on the ground, leaning against the wall opposite the screens. "Fuck this!" He cursed, before he buried his metal hand in the wall he was leaning on, leaving a dent in it.

Steve watched Bucky with worry. They had to get out of this room as soon as possible, he scanned the room, looking for an opportunity to break free. When he found absolutely nothing, he punched one of the screens in frustration. Bucky jumped to his feet as soon as Steve's fist collided with the technical device. "What the hell?" Bucky cursed, walking up to Steve, who just kept glaring at the screen covered wall. "Look." Steve pointed to one of the screen, which showed Alice whipping around to face one of the cameras. She slowly walked towards it, before she stopped a few feet away. It was just now that Bucky got a close up on her. She looked tired and the black tint of her skin, which had before only come up to her wrist, now reached halfway to her elbow. "We need to get out. Quickly, if she keeps going and she will probably drop dead herself." Bucky's frustration had invaded his voice. Steve started tracing every wall with his fingers, looking for some hidden door, knocking against the wall to check for a hollow space. He didn't stop until the sound of crashing filled the white room. He turned to see Bucky ripping the screens off the wall. "What are you doing?!" Steve screeched, trying to hold Bucky back. Bucky however just ripped himself out of his hold. "If there is no way out of this room at least we don't have to torture us with watching them." Bucky pointed at the screens, before hitting the wall behind the screens out of frustration. "Stop it, Buck!" Steve shouted, snapping Bucky out of his frustration. "You have to calm down, pal. We will get out and we will get to Alice before it is too late." Steve patted on Bucky's shoulder. "And I think you just found our way out." Steve stated, while pointing at the wall. Relief washed over Bucky, when the wall started to grumble after he had hit it again. After one last punch from Bucky's metal arm and a kick from Steve the wall gave in. Bucky flexed his metal fist, the limb was stuttering a bit, making Bucky frown at it. The two of them climbed out of the hole. "Where the hell are we." Bucky grumbled, before he walked down to one end of the hall. Steve followed and was pushed against the wall by Bucky's arm, when two agents walked down the next hallway.

Bucky peeked around the corner, before lifting his hand signalling to Steve that three agents, lingered just around the corner. Steve gave him a short nod, counting down from three using his fingers, before the two friends rounded the corner and attacked the agents. They had taken down the agents quite quickly, but as soon as they had caught their breath more agents run around the corner. "For fuck's sake." Bucky grumbled under his breath, before they started fighting once more until they were the only ones still standing in the hallway. Before any more agents could make their way towards them, they decided to find Alice. After all they had to stop her, before it was too late. They rounded another corner, but were stopped, when two voices filled the silence. "They said to keep off the sixth floor," Footsteps followed the voice. "The girl is totally freaking out and they would warn us when she got closer." The same voice continued. "I'm already looking forward to the final stage of the whole move." Steve shot Bucky a curious look at the agent's words. "She hasn't totally lost control yet, they are just waiting for her to find the videos. Morrison said they would be on the fourth floor."

Bucky shook his head at these agents stupidity, sharing such information so carelessly, when they knew that the two super soldiers were on this floor. Steve and him sneaked away from them to the closest elevator. "You'll go up to the sixth floor, find Alice and make sure she is alright." Steve started, "take her to the quinjet and calm her down. Don't come back until you are sure she is ready." Bucky gave short nod. "I'll get off at the fourth floor and make sure it is clear." "Alright, see you later, punk." Bucky pulled Steve in a short hug, before he got off. "Jerk." Steve smiled at him, while the doors closed.

Bucky took one last breath, before he stepped out of the elevator. The hallway was empty, but he could hear running, so he followed the noise. Soon enough a couple of Hydra agents run past the hallway he had just left behind him. Apparently they had tried to run away from Alice, who had just turned the corner. Her gaze was fixed on the agents, he saw her lifting her hand and thought it was best to step into her view, before she accidentally killed him as well. "Allie!" His voice directed her attention from the agents to him. She dropped her arm, staring at him in for another second, but as soon as he took a step closer to her, she rushed into his arms. He tightened his arms around her, pecking her temple. "I thought they would have taken you away or worse." Alice sobbed into his chest, her hands clutching the front of his suit. "I"m alright, doll. Everything is fine." He rubbed soothing circles on her back. The two of them had been so caught up in each other, that neither of them saw the agents with their syringes in their hands. Bucky felt Alice sacking in his arms, her body going limp, but before he could react his world turned black.


	13. Confinement

Sam rounded the corner, he had lost sight of Alice. His mind had been fuzzy for a bit and he was almost sure that Alice had been in his head. He had been sure that Alice would be there, but nothing. He searched the floor once more, there was no trace of Alice. He came closer to the elevator and run into Steve. "Steve!" Sam pulled the super soldier into a hug. "Damn! I wasn't sure what happened to you and seeing Alice on her rampage was scary, man." Steve and Sam started walking down the corridor. "Where are they?" Steve turned to his friends, who looked up at him confused. "I was just looking for Alice. I didn't see her." Panic rose in Steve's chest. "I send Bucky up here to get her. Ask Barton over the coms if they are with him. If they are not tell everyone to start searching the tower for the two of them!" Steve ordered, before he left Sam and searched the floor one last time.

Barton had informed Sam that neither Bucky nor Alice was with him. He had informed the others and Tony told them to check the cameras to look for them. Sam and Steve had made their way to the top floor, where Tony told them the security room would be. "Keep looking for any Hydra agents on this floor. I'll see if I can find them on any of the tapes." Steve ordered, before Sam positioned himself in the doorway. "Floor one to six are clean." Steve informed Sam, who gave him a short nod. "Where are you Bucky?" Steve mumbled under his breath.

* * *

 

Alice woke up first, she found herself cuffed to a chair. Bucky was right in front of her on a chair, which was all too familiar to her. "No, no, no, no." Alice panicked, pulling on her restraints. She felt like her worst nightmare became true. They were both back in a Hydra facility and like after every mission, Bucky was back in the chair, about to endure another session of brainwashing. "Oh no." Alice sobbed, wriggling her wrists to get rid of the handcuffs. "Ah! You are awake." Alice twisted her head to see one of the Hydra agents. His uniform was different from the usual agents, which probably meant he was higher ranked. "Let me guess, you got lost?" He offered her her usual excuse she had told them, when Alice brought Bucky back too late. Alice was biting the inside of her cheek, trying to keep quiet. She had learned that talking back never ended well for her. "Yeah, I thought so." He looked down at her with a smug expression, before his fist hit her face. "Don't you ever dare to do anything but your mission!" He growled at her, before the next punch hit her jaw. "You had a mission. He is your mission, to return him to us, not help him escape." The next hit landed on her eye and Alice did her best to show no emotions. To not show him how much it hurt to be punched and knowing what will happen to Bucky or how terrified she was to be here.

The agent, which she had recognised as Jack Rollins, had stopped his abuse after what felt like eternity. During his assault, he had dragged her from the chair, slammed her into the wall, before he kicked her to the floor. When Alice didn't react to any of his punches, he had taken the chair, she had been sitting on, and smashed it on her back. He had, after a couple more kicks to the stomach, left her to cry. At first Alice had feared that he would linger somewhere in the room, but the sound of a slamming door, assured her that he was gone. As soon as the lock clicked, tears started to fall down Alice cheeks. She had failed. All she tried to prevent was this, Bucky and her returning to Hydra. She had never before really felt like a failure, but now that had changed. She looked up at Bucky to see him still out. They must have drugged him with something that was stronger than what she had gotten, because her screams would've woken a bear who was hibernating. Alice stayed in her position, her whole body was aching. Her eyes closed slightly and she felt herself drift off, but before she fell asleep movements caught her eye.

"Fuck!" Bucky pulled on his own restraints, before he looked up and his eyes met Alice. "No, god, no, no, no." Bucky was panicking, he couldn't go through this again. He had regained a lot his memories, he couldn't lose them again. He couldn't lose Alice or Steve again. His eyes traveled back to Alice, who was lying on the floor. His eyes scanned the room, from Alice to the broken chair next to her. Anger took over Bucky, before he once more tried to pull on his restraints. He needed to help her, he needed to get out of this goddamn chair. A frustrated grunt left his lips.

The opening off the door caught his attention and a few agents entered the room. One of them walked over to Alice. "Darling, I'm back." He smirked at her, while he wrapped a hand around her jaw, forcing her to look up at him. Alice growled at him, while Bucky started struggling once more. "Oh my friend, stop struggling." Rollins had turned to him, while two agents placed themselves on either side of Alice. "You see, when we found out that our little angel over there had helped you escape, we thought we have to punish **her** for once." He was leaning on the headrest of Bucky's chair, watching the two agents picking up Alice. "However, we realised that our dear Alice cherish nothing more than you, my dear friend, so what better way to punish her, than make you forget all about her?" Bucky wanted nothing more than to punch that bastards in his smug face. "That would be a bit easy though, wouldn't it?" This question filled Bucky with hope, maybe they won't make him forget her. "Oh no, my friend you will be brainwashed in the end, but before, we'd like her to watch us torture you for a bit, how does that sound?" Bucky growled at him, pulling once more on the restraints, before a syringe hit his neck.

 


	14. Norns

Alice gasped when she saw the syringe buried in Bucky's neck. The two agents, who held her up, had forced her to watch, while Rollins walked up to a table. "So Miss Macbay any preferred torture tool? Or shall I chose the first one?" He threw her a wicked grin, while his fingers traced the tools. Alice growled at him, trying with all her power to get out of their grip, but they were holding on too tight. "You know, you remind me more of a dog, than a Goddess, my dear." He smirked at her. "But than again you are only a servant to the Gods aren't you. So you are a dog and now you are our dog." He nodded at one of the agents next to her and with blow to the head everything turned black.

* * *

 

The Avengers had finally secured the tower, Bruce and Tony were trying to track down Bucky and Alice, while Natasha, Sam and Steve tried to come up with a plan of rescue. "We have to act quick. They will try to brainwash Bucky again and I don't think Alice will come away lightly either." Steve stated, while the other two nodded agreeing. "Easiest way out is using Alice." Nat stated. "No matter where we are, we will be out of there in a second with her." "True, only question is how many people at once can go with her." Sam looked at Steve, one could see the worry on his face and Sam understood why, Bucky and Alice weren't only his friends, but also the only two people he had left from his life before the war. "Cap, we will find them and get them back." Sam was surprised to see Natasha comfort Steve. Steve gave her a short nod, "We can't really come up with a good plan, until we know where they are. Rest, train and be ready to leave as soon as we get their position." Steve left the room, leaving the other two on their own.

"We should have put one of our own trackers under her skin, when we removed the Hydra ones." Tony complained, while he let Friday search the known Hydra bases for any sign of life. So far, thanks to body heat of people residing in the bases, the A.I. had come up with two bases, but it still had to run more. Meanwhile Bruce was checking through Alice's file, looking for a unique way to find her, hoping that like the Tesseract he could find her through gamma radiance or something similar. "Too late for that now." Bruce muttered, his eyes fixed on her file. "I'd like to know what she is. Our little devil is not a mutant." Tony's voice sounded so close, making Bruce jump, when he realised he was peeking into the file over his shoulder. "She is a Necromancer." Thor's voice made them both jump, the demi-god was leaning against the door frame. "Aren't they usually using black magic, which would mean she is enhanced and more like Wanda." Bruce looked at Thor questioningly. "No." Starks eyebrows furrowed in confusion at Thor's reply. "So what is a Necromancer?" He leaned against one of the lab tables, picking at a bag of dried blueberries. "Helpers of the Norns." Bruce and Tony looked confused, which confused Thor, surly Midgardians had to know who the Norns are. "Norns?" Thor sighed at Tony's questions, mumbled a 'Midgardians' under his breath, before he started explaining, "The Norns are three females living in the Well of Urd and carve people's destiny into the tree Yggdrasil, which is the centre of the universe. It holds the nine realms in its branches and roots." Thor looked proud to know for once more than the two genius.

"Women carving people's destiny into a tree?" Barton rose his eyebrows, when Thor had repeated what he had already told Banner and Stark earlier. Thor nodded, while everyone looked rather confused. "And what is a Necromancer's role in it?" Steve looked up at the god of thunder. "They make sure no one skips their destiny. If someone survives their death, a Necromancer will kill them. They get wounded and not meant to, a Necromancer will heal them. They die before their time, they will be revived." The others were quiet, not sure what to say. "So how did Hydra get hold of her?" Natasha had broken the silence. "Bucky." Was all that Steve said. "I can't imagine her leaving him there to his own devices, especially after all they did to him." "Have you found a location yet?" Sam interrupted, trying to change the topic, as it seemed like everyone was still a bit wary about it. Barton and Romanoff, because both of them still weren't so certain that Alice was indeed a friend and not an enemy, especially after her rampage and Steve had given up arguing, that the female was harmless, after Natasha had played footage of Alice killing a room full of men without even blinking. Tony and Bruce, because they couldn't find any physical proof for Alice's abilities, which bothered Tony more than Bruce. Steve, because she was his friend, who he now found out apparently killed people for some Norse goddesses. Sam wasn't to keen on the subject either if he was honest, he had grown to like Alice during the stay at the cottage even though her abilities creeped him out. "Narrowed it down to two, we are just running the last checks..." Tony was interrupted by Friday, telling him that they found the facility. "Suit up, we're leaving in 5."


	15. Retrieval

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last pre-written chapter from next week there should be new material YAAAY

The next time Alice came to her senses, she was in a very familiar cell. The first time she had been in there, she had laughed at the agents, who had put her in there, before she had teleported back in the hallway and had killed them. However Hydra had learned their lesson and somehow developed a cell, which deprived Alive of her powers. She was sitting up in her cot, leaning against the wall, growling and groaning in frustration. She leaned her head against the wall, there must be a way for her to get of here and then she could save Bucky. She chuckled cynically, the chances of that happening was getting smaller and smaller. However a small amount of hope remained, this time Steve knew they were both alive and he would come to get them.

Alice was pulled from her thoughts when the door opened. An agent stood in the doorway. "Come on, tracker dog. You have business to attend." He smirked at her, before pushing her in front of him and out of the door. She was guided down the hall until they were back in the room with Bucky. He shot Alice a quick reassuring smile, while she was pushed into a chair, her hands and feet cuffed to it. "It's nice of you to join us, Macbay." Rollins smirked at her, while he played with the scalpel in his hand. "Let's get started shall we?" Bucky's grunts soon filled the silence, while this bastard was slashing Bucky's skin with the scalpel over and over again, leaving numberless cuts on his chest. Meanwhile Bucky's gaze was fixed on Alice, hoping she could read in his eyes, that everything will be okay.

The agents had left the couple after their torture session. Both strapped in their chairs, their eyes never leaving the other's. "Stop feeling guilty." Bucky broke the silence, causing Alice to look away, tears filling her eyes. "How can I?" Her eyes flitted back to Bucky, a sad smile on her face. Voices and gunshots erupted from the hallway, causing the assassin and necromancer to look at the door. Hope filled Alice, did the others came to get them? Soon their door was kicked open and Hydra agents filled the room. "Sedate them for a save transportation." One ordered, while he prepared two syringes. _Oh no!_ Alice started struggling again, causing her chair to fall over. "Get her back up." The same agent ordered, while two other pulled her back up. Alice could see Bucky struggling against his restraints without success and before Alice knew it everything went black.

Bucky shouted at the agents to back away from Alice, however no one reacted in anyway. "He's next." The agent stated, handing the syringe over to a different agents. He clearly knew better than to get closer to him and Bucky proved him right, when the agent with the syringe stepped too close, Bucky head-butted him, causing the agent to black out. He growled at the other agents, when they tried to step closer. Bucky realised that the agents grew restless, while the shots and fighting noise came closer and closer. "Knock him out! Quick!" The agent ordered, walking to the door to check. "What are you waiting for?" He shouted at the men crowding the room, but all of them seemed rather hesitant to approach the super soldier.

Before any of them made a move, the agent on the door was pierced by an arrow. Soon after a familiar shield hit his face, knocking him out. Steve filled the door in an instant. The stare down between the remaining agents and Steve was almost comical. None of the agents moved until Cap took a step towards them. Suddenly the agents realised what they had to do and started to attack Steve and Clint. The agents weren't much of a challenge for the two superheroes and soon enough, Barton was removing Bucky's restrains, while Alice was picked up by Steve. "Let's get out of here." Steve ordered, telling the other over the coms that they had found the two and were bringing them back to the quinjet, as their planned quick escape with Alice had fallen through. Steve took the lead, Bucky followed him, while Clint covered their back.

* * *

 

They had returned to the tower without any major problems. Once the Hydra agents had realised what was happening, the avengers attacking and their superiors leaving them behind, most of them either scattered or capitulated. Once they had arrived at the tower, Alice had been brought to the infirmary, although it seemed like there was nothing physically wrong with her, Bruce still wanted to keep an eye on her. "They gave her something to knock her out." Bucky was sitting on the chair next to Alice's bed, as Bruce and Tony gave Alice a once over check and extracted some of her blood to find out what Hydra had used to knock her out. Bucky was still very antsy and on edge. It hadn't completely sunk in that they were safe for now. They had done it once again, they left Hydra behind again, the only question was for how long this time? "She shouldn't wake up before tomorrow." Bruce informed him, looking at the tablet in front of him. "You might want to go up to your room and get some sleep." Bucky just shook his head. He couldn't leave Alice, but he was sure he looked like hell and he seemed to be proven right, when Steve stepped into the infirmary with look of concern on his face. "You should rest." Steve pulled a chair on the opposite side of the bed. "I will when she is awake." Steve chuckled at Bucky's response. "We both know you won't, not until she is out of here." Bucky gave a short chuckle, before his eyes settled on Alice again. "How are you?" Bucky took a deep breath before he answered. "I'm fine, Steve." Bruce had cleaned the cuts earlier, stitched up those who needed stitches and bandaged them. "Only a few cuts, nothing too dangerous." Bucky reassured his friend. Steve nodded, before he looked at Alice as well.

Movement woke Alice. Her eyes snapped to Bucky who was twisting and turning in a chair, mumbling incoherent words. "Bucky!" Her voice was raspy, while she stretched out her arm to shake her lover awake. His eyes flew open and settled on her. "You are awake." He sounded dumbstruck. He continued stare at her, causing her to furrow her brows, but before she could say anything, he had her in a tight hug. "I thought you would never wake up." His voice trembled, initiating pain to spread through her chest. "How long was I out?" She wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his neck. "Almost a month."


	16. The Acceptance

Alice was still in shock, she had been unconscious for a whole month. Not only was she shocked, but a sense of guilt had also taken over. How worried they all must have been, not knowing whether she would actually wake up or not. Afraid that she would be gone again. After she had waken up, Bruce and Tony had checked her over, before giving her the go ahead to leave the infirmary. She was sitting on the couch, while Steve and Bucky argued with the others, what they should do now. Some, Natasha and Wanda, still didn’t trust her and others, Clint, were quite uncomfortable with her living in the tower. Alice didn’t know Wanda, she had met the female for the first time, when she had entered the living room. It annoyed her a bit, that a person, who had only met her 5 minutes ago, was now trying to decide what would happen to her. Alice, however, was not surprised by Natasha’s or Clint’s reaction to her staying in the tower, she had known that the two spies had not liked her from the start and she knew that her rampage did nothing to change that.

 

Without anyone noticing the brunette left the living room, she had enough of people arguing. She’d prefer the silence of her cell at Hydra, than the constant back and forth of arguing friends. With a sigh Alice sat down in one of the chairs on the balcony, she had moved it closer to the railing, so she could have a better look at the city. Leaning her forearms against the railing, Alice placed her head on her hands, observing the people in the streets, waiting for the people in the living room to stop. “You never liked people fighting.” Steve’s voice made Alice’s head snap around to face him. He was leaning against the doorway, watching her. “I don’t like seeing people raise their voices at their loved ones.” Steve gave an agreeing nod, while he approached the female, sitting down in the chair next to her. “Well, the fight is over.” He leaned back in his chair, looking out onto the city. “How many casualties?” Alice heard the soft chuckle coming from the super soldier and the female turned to face him. “None, as far as I know, but none of them had entirely cooled down when I left.” Steve mused and jumped, when a loud crash came from the living room.

 

Both of them jumped out of their seats, before they run into the living room, just waiting for a massive brawl to have broken out, while they had been outside. Instead they found Stark in his suit on the floor and a massive hole above him, while the other stood around him, staring him down in confusion and amusement. “I heard fighting.” The billionaire reasoned, while Steve simple rolled his eyes and Bucky and Clint did little suppress their laughter. “They are trying to figure out what to do with me.” Alice filled Tony in, while holding out a hand to help him up. Tony raised an eyebrow at the female, not thinking that she would be much help, while he was still in in suit. Alice raised a challenging eyebrow in return, which received a grin from the billionaire, before he took her hand and Alice pulled him up. Tony shot her an approving look, before he turned to the others. “I say she stays.” He announced with a grin, much to the displeasure of Natasha and Clint, who eyed Alice suspiciously. “Don’t even argue with me, people! My house, my rules.” The billionaire sung, before he left the room.

 

To say that the atmosphere in the tower was frosty was an understatement. Natasha had not been pleased with Tony’s decision and she made no effort to hide it, even going as far as leaving the room, when Alice entered. Alice didn’t really care though, yes she wanted to be civil with the redhead, she did not care much for drama and arguments, but she could not push the female to trust her. Trust is something one gained and Alice did know that she had done nothing to gain Natasha’s trust. Even now weeks after she had woken up, Natasha’s behaviour towards her had not changed and it slowly started to affect Alice. She was not someone, who simply had to get everyone to like her, but Natasha was a friend of Steve’s and potentially Bucky’s, although she was not entirely sure if the two were friends or just accepted each other’s present, and it did not sit well with Alice, that Natasha seemed to despise her so much.

 

She tried several time to corner the spy to have a one on one chat, but Natasha always seemed to slip away, until finally Alice managed to be alone with her in gym. “I mean no harm.” The brunette blurted out, making the redhead snap her head in her direction. “I’m not here to cause trouble or anything like that.” Alice stood in the middle of the room, while Natasha was just wrapping her hands in tape. “And yet you were the cause of trouble.” Natasha grumbled, approaching the brunette. “Not because I meant to. I did not mean for anything of this to happen.” Alice reasoned, hoping that Natasha would finally stop hating her so much. “That’s not making it any better.” Natasha grumbled, before she turned around and walked back to her bag. “You can teleport to be wherever you like.” She was still looking through her bag, while Alice grew rather uncomfortable. “I know.” “You killed a room full of men without betting an eyelash.” Finally the redhead turned around and approached Alice once more. “You have no control over what you are doing.” Alice stared at her in disbelief, “What is that supposed to mean?” She spoke through gritted teeth. “That you need training and a lot of it, because neither the Norns or Hydra seemed to have spend even a second on getting you into shape.”

 

Alice had been offended at first, but the more time she had spent thinking about Natasha’s words, the more she realised the redhead had been right. She acted on her emotions, had never been disciplined and she could see that in combat, it was not a good thing. She was a wildcard, that could potentially backfire on the others and while she didn’t like the way Natasha had conveyed it to her, she could understand where the female was coming from. The last thing she wanted was to hurt any of them, least of them Bucky. So she had struck a deal with Natasha, she would train with her and learn some self control and was therefore allowed to stay in the tower, without being pierced by furious glares all the time.

**Author's Note:**

> I had first published this piece on my wattpad, but now I wanted to post it here as well as edit it. I hope you enjoy it. And I know it might be a bit confusing at first, but things will be explained over the course of the story!


End file.
